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mythserene · 4 months

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Lewisohn: rewriting history in the area where we trust him most – the songs performed

-In which Lewisohn rewrites a Beatles story and completely changes the songs sung, and coincidentally changes them in such a way so that if you know your Beatles trivia you'll think that Paul completely hogged the mic for two-thirds of the show-

Although I’ve come to a place where I’m more surprised to find a Lewisohn quote that turns out to be accurate than I am one that’s butchered, I have tended to believe that he is trustworthy on things like dates and songs performed. I’ve felt like that’s probably his anchor, and that he shapes the rest of his narrative around that.

But perhaps the habit of taking license cannot help but spread into other areas, because I am discovering that neither dates nor song lists turn out to be sacred with Mark Lewisohn.

As far as dates, that is part of a bigger piece that has been tangling me up for a few weeks, but his version of “the Beatmakers” performance shows that Mark Lewisohn will write what he wants, and that he has zero compunction in changing history to suit himself, regardless of subject.

In Chapter 22: “Right then, Brian — Manage Us,” a primary theme is that every promoter was done with the Beatles when Brian Epstein came along. Brian Kelly, especially, is given the role of being fed up with them, and Lewisohn uses “the Beatmakers” performance—Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Beatles going on stage together—as an example of how bad everything was just before Brian stepped in. (I do believe that Brian was a godsend, but that doesn’t mean that Lewisohn’s narrative is supported in every area, and in some places he stretches a lot more than in others. This is definitely one of those areas.)

Here’s the story: before going to the Litherland Town Hall performance, Bob Wooler had been drinking, maybe with the Beatles, and in Lewisohn’s version, Gerry seeing that they were all drunk sent “Gerry Marsden scuttling to the pub around the corner.” Every telling I’ve seen, one way or another, is in agreement that Gerry Marsden as well as Wooler had been drinking, and that the Pacemakers and the Beatles all played together with Wooler introducing them as “the Beatmakers.” Lewisohn adds some highly unlikely Preludin into the mix—“John, pissed and pilled…”—but I’m not going to take that on here.

Along with the chance to tell a riotously colorful story—one that in Lewisohn’s telling goes much farther than any of the source materials I’ve found—the main point of the tale is for Wooler to give us the climax of the—(all unsourced, other than this single, butchered Wooler quote)—frustration Lewisohn tells us promoter Brian Kelly was feeling: “Brian Kelly was fraught with anxiety over it. It was only a short episode and a bit of a shambles.”

The quote by Wooler that Lewisohn uses to try to prove his point, and the one and only reference he gives to support any of his “Brian Kelly fed up/Epstein must save Beatles” narrative is a modification of one of those Lewisohn monsters I call a “donut.” (There’s a hole in the middle. However in this case, as in many others, he also adds words that were never spoken.)

THE ACTUAL WOOLER QUOTE:

“Brian Kelly was fraught with anxiety over it, but the audience liked it. It was a bit of a shambles really, so I lowered the curtain on the proceedings.”

LEWISOHN’S REWRITE:

“Brian Kelly was fraught with anxiety over it. It was only a short episode and a bit of a shambles.”

And while I am very interested in what Lewisohn is using for his Brian-Epstein-saved-the-Beatles-but-Paul-tried-to-thwart-him narrative, I felt the need to pause to look at Lewisohn’s massive and nonsensical alterations to this performance, especially in the songs the improvised combo-band played. (And yet how very authoritatively Lewisohn does it.)

The whole section has problems, but let us deal with the songs.

Mark Lewisohn says they “thundered through four numbers”—

The Beatmakers thundered through four numbers—“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “What’d I Say” (extended mix), “Red Sails in the Sunset” and the new Ray Charles record “Hit the Road Jack”—during which John, pissed and pilled, slid from the piano and slumped on the stage.

—‘Tune In,’ Lewisohn – Chapter 22 (Emphasis mine.)

Sticking to the songs, the page referenced in the footnote first quotes Bob Wooler:

“They did a few numbers like ‘Hit The Road Jack’, swopping instruments and the like.”

—FOOTNOTE 9: ‘The Best of Fellas’ – Bob Wooler (Emphasis mine)

Then the next paragraph quotes Gerry Marsden, and I’m going to add boldface to the songs he says they played:

“It worked very well as we all knew the same songs and all played the same songs. Paul, John and I took turns on the piano and Les played the sax. We did ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Johnny B. Goode’, ‘Great Balls Of Fire’, ‘Pretend’, ‘Blueberry Hill’, ‘I’m Walkin'’ and ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’, probably some others too.”

—FOOTNOTE 9: ‘The Best of Fellas’ – Gerry Marsden (Emphasis mine)

So, either they performed exactly four numbers, including an “extended mix” of Paul wailing ‘What’d I Say,’ —or— they performed at least eight numbers and “probably some others, too.”

“The Best of Fellas” version from Bob Wooler and Gerry Marsden that is referenced in the footnote makes sense in ways that Lewisohn’s rewriting doesn’t. Marsden begins by saying that they all knew the same numbers, and moreover what Lewisohn is telling us is that Paul took over the mic for three out of four numbers, and went so far in his spotlight-hogging selfishness as to sing an “extended version” of ‘What’d I Say.’ It’s a particularly egregious “if you know, you know” insertion that conjures up a very damning image of Paul in this otherwise “mutual mood of cooperativeness.” But not only is Lewisohn’s song list not supported, if Paul had hogged the spotlight that way it’s only reasonable to believe that Marsden would have remembered that, and certainly wouldn’t have described the collaboration in the way he did. And if Paul was hogging the mic and spotlight and had sung song after song where he was the lead, Marsden absolutely, positively, would not have rolled off a list of songs that didn’t include a single, solitary Paul song. That is simply beyond belief.

Gerry Marsden’s recollection also makes a lot of sense in that it’s natural that he would best remember the songs where he sang lead. And indeed, out of the seven songs he names, four are Pacemakers’ songs. (Including the one Wooler names and Lewisohn decides to agree with: “Hit the Road, Jack.”) And none of the songs anyone names are songs where Paul sings lead. Two are John songs and the other is a George song, which lends credence to Gerry Marsden’s “probably some others, too” comment, because it’s likely that there was at least one song where Paul was lead.) But in Lewisohn’s seemingly fabricated four-song list, other than “Hit the Road, Jack” they’re all Paul numbers. So not only does Lewisohn choose to have Paul singing an extended version of a scene-stealing “What’d I Say” but he slyly tells us that Paul basically hogged the microphone for seventy-five percent of the numbers (and even more of the time) that this “cooperative” was on stage together. Now, if you’re not a hardcore fan with a fair amount of knowledge this will probably slip past you, but if you’ve got a dog in this hunt, and especially if you already think Paul McCartney is a self-obsessed prima donna, you’ll get the picture Lewisohn is so deliberately painting. And I write deliberately very—well, deliberately—because if a writer makes the decision to veer away from the record and create a very specific, very limited, and very fictional song list for an anecdote about two groups deciding to get together and sing, and more than two-thirds of the songs chosen for the historical rewrite are Paul songs—and then that writer even goes to the trouble of telling readers that Paul sang an “extended mix” of one of those songs—then of course it’s deliberate. Lewisohn didn’t choose his reinvented song list at random out of a Bingo cage.

Here are the songs referenced in the footnote versus the songs that Lewisohn says they sang.

SOURCE MATERIAL SONG LIST/USUAL LEAD:

“Hit the Road Jack” ✓ /Gerry Marsden

“Roll Over Beethoven”/George

“Johnny B. Goode”/John

“Great Balls Of Fire”/Gerry (and Paul?)

“Pretend”/Gerry Marsden

“Blueberry Hill”/Gerry Marsden

“Sweet Little Sixteen”/John

“I’m Walkin'”/Gerry Marsden

LEWISOHN’S SONG LIST/USUAL LEAD:

“Hit the Road Jack” ✓ /Gerry Marsden

“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”/Paul

“What’d I Say” (extended mix)/Paul

“Red Sails in the Sunset”/Paul

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P.S. If you haven't been reading all of @wingsoverlagos 's work, you absolutely have to. She's done so much and Lewisohn's inventions are so much worse than I realized.

#the beatles #beatles #mark lewisohn #lewisohn is making stuff up again #dr frankenquote #lewisohn #the beatmakers #bob wooler #fine tuning #tune in #paul mccartney #john lennon #gerry and the pacemakers #the best of fellas

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ctkvi · 9 months

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A hand drawn design made for @funktionalj

He is a very talented soulful beat maker that got in touch with us.

Started with a simple photoshoot photo firstly. Then, him wanting to stand with (amsoi) in his right hand which we put in.

Additionally, add madame Jeannette peppers in his left hand. The background is jungle-like which he requested to be drawn.

He also wanted the Surinam flag pole somewhere in the background which we implemented.

Do you want a custom hand drawn design?

We can do that for you, feel free to email or message on our chat messenger bottom right of the official website.

We will be in touch within 24 hours!

Have a budget in mind.

CTKVI.STORE INSTAGRAM

#CTKVI #The Creative Studio #Funktional J #hand drawn #single cover #illustration #hiphop #hip hop #sampling #beatmaker #beats #instrumental #MPC #get yours today!

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filthyneverdie · 4 months

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SNEAKER PIMPS - 6 Underground REWORK

dystopiancaveman.com

#sneaker pimps #sp404mk2 #trip hop #downtempo #90s music #beatmaker #lofi #lofi hip hop #hip hop #alternative hip hop #vaporwave #vaporwave aesthetic #lofi beats #otaku #otaku life #chillhop

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futureselfbeats · 4 months

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DAY 818 - HOLD STILL

IG: @futureselfbeats

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shadowthartist · 2 days

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[ Medusa ]

Medusa is a deeply personal song about the pain of being entranced by a cold-hearted girl. It explores the emotional journey of feeling frozen and purposeless, only to find strength and meaning through the power of self discovery and resilience

#artist #artists on tumblr #producer #beatmaking #blade runner #small creator

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eartht0lei · 9 months

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getting like this soon

| M.I.A making beats on her Roland MC-505

#nyc #film #film scoring #beatmaker #digital diary #spilled thoughts #M.I.A

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bestnthewest · 1 year

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#weed #joints #pass the joint #pass the blunt #big blunts #mf doom #hiphop #rapper #hiphoplyrics #beats #beatmaker #mpc #vinyljunkie #vinylcollection #metal face

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arkai-wav · 2 months

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youtube

j. cole ( visualizer + remix )

“might delete later”

vocals by j. cole

beat by me

#instrumental #music #rap #hiphop #producer #beats #arkai #youtube #beatmaker #beat tape #j. cole might delete later #j cole might delete later #j. cole #jcole #might delete later #j cole remix #j cole

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rattshitt · 2 months

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FIRST UP IS THE NEWEST COUPLE OF TRACKS. Starting with L, my first and hopefully only Square 4 track, I cooked it up while I was waiting for ubereats last night. I also had the opportunity to create the Stream Start music for one for my friend DemonDelights' twitch streams so here's that

And here come the big ones I'm most of the way through, Supernova, Pon!!! and Yokaimatsuri. The first of which (also the closest to finished) is a colour bass track I started after the release party for Constellate with Chime and the windy bois and Pon!! is a track from 2018 that was built off a sample of Nekomata Okayu from an animation by Otoufu-san! I got back onto the project about a week ago, and after using MORE Okayu x Otoufu samples I built up the second drop and placeholder outro! Yokaimatsuri on the other hand leans more into my weeby influence and takes from Japanese folklore and themes blending them into a heavy tearout track!

Next we have da lil guys, Goat Gang and Spiral. Goat Gang is a few months old and was meant to be a lil fanart type beat for DemonDelightrs again. Spiral was directly inspired by Junji Ito's Uzumaki and the spiralling melody. Both are in a stage where they're just the first half of some drops

And that's really it for stuff I'm happy to post here atm, hopefully I'll be able to pump out some more stuff soon, sorry for the long post ily y'all 🖤

#edm #beatmaker #dubstep #producer #soundcloud #anime #wip dump #tearout #tearout dubstep #square 4 #riddim #music #nekomata okayu #hololive #fan song #Junji Ito #Uzumaki #colour bass #NO MORE TAGS I HAVE A MIGRAINE

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afrotumble · 8 months

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#hit boy #nas #studio #beats #beatmaking

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prodbybonus · 5 months

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@prodbybonus on IG

#mpc2000xl #akai #mpc #beatmaker #producer #hiphop #boombap #samples #beats #underground

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ctkvi · 1 year

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"Music ain't a sound, it's a feeling…” - @canmking

CTKVI.STORE INSTAGRAM

#CTKVI #The Creative Studio #CANMKING #hiphop #beats #piano #composer #melanin #rap #rapper #beatmaker #music #soundcloud #audio #illustration #cartoon illustration #graphic design

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filthyneverdie · 1 year

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NAMO - NINTH FORM MOTOKO

#bladerunner #cyberpunk anime #anime edit #bladerunner 2049 #japanese animation #japanese anime #cyberpunk #cyberpunk aesthetic #electronic hip hop #toonami #adult swim #anime fight #anime #beatmaker

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futureselfbeats · 1 year

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DAY 534 - HOLD ME BACK

original music + animation

IG: @futureselfbeats

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shadowthartist · 4 months

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Happy 4 Months to my project “ Tales From Mercury” what a wonderful and beautiful time it has been since this project has dropped, what’s your favorite song from the project ?

I thank you all for this support, I thank you all to where this project has led me , new music, and new vibes VERY VERY SOON, soon before you know it

All platforms just pick one 🖤

#artist #artists on tumblr #producer #beatmaking #comics #marvel #jjk #blade runner #mfdoom #naruto #rap artist #unsigned #soundcloud #spotify #spotify playlist #my art

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bantuotaku · 8 months

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THE WORLD IS YOUR! 🌍 I was listening to @nas this week and I felt compelled to flip this joint most widely know by producer @realpeterock I’m not gonna lie that finding this gem within an #AhmadJamal was legendary.

💿🎵: Ahmad Jamal - I Love Music

🎤: T La Rock - It’s Yours

Source

#soundcloud #music #jersey club #jersey club music #edm #jerseyclub #house music #dance music #electronic music #dablackmic #beatmaker #producer #music producer #nas #hip hop #boombap

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